TC Stark: So, just to tell you guys, this chapter kind of moves things along. And there's some action and sad parts in it. I feel the climax of the story is reaching its peek and as much as I wanted to postpone it, my fingers could not allow it. Please enjoy this chapter! ^^ And thank you for all the love, your reviews give me life! Also, the place in this chapter exists and is forty minutes from me xD!
Disclaimer: If anyone has read my "Whatever Time We Have Left" story, I am reusing Tilda. I found with that story that I never developed her properly, so I'm revamping her - giving her a fresh coat of wax and throwing her into this story. Also, as much as I love the Cap, I've realized (in my head) she is much better suited in this AU, as this is a Pietro/OC story (with small parts of Cap/Black Widow because they're my OTP). This story is rated M for mature content, such as sex, violence, death, language, etc. I try not to ever be too vulgar, but also don't believe in censorship. This story deals with the serious issues of a fatal medical condition, so there's that. I do not own anyone, except Tilda and my ideas.
Chapter Ten
"Um, is this entirely necessary?" Tony Stark questioned.
A few days had flown by, when the Cap had requested a meeting. Iron Man didn't often leave his New York City tower, but decided to grace the rest of the Avengers with his presence. That was a decision that had yet to be viewed at as a gift or a curse. When the rich man began complaining, Steve categorized it under Stark being a pain in my ass.
Sighing, Steve Rogers stood before the long oval table that sat everyone, "Yes. I don't think it's too much to ask for, for us all to get together and talk. We're a team and have fought many battles before, and will probably fight many in the future. It's important that we all remain a coherent gathering."
"But, most of you guys live here." The billionaire argued.
"But you don't," Steve sighed exasperatedly, "And neither does Thor and neither does Sam. You don't hear either of them complaining."
Cracking open a can of soda, Tony shrugged, "Well, that's simple. Thor has his lady friend down here and Sam well...he lives in Brooklyn," Turning towards the Falcon, he shrugged, "No offense."
With his eyebrows furrowed in, Sam awkwardly responded, "Ugh...no offense, I guess?"
Feeling he said nothing wrong, Tony went to reach for his soda. Just before he was able to grab it though, the can suddenly caved in on itself, maybe a slight mess. Shocked, he looked up to see Tilda sitting with her arms crossed on the other side of the table, looking pointedly at him and obviously the one who caused it to happen.
Loudly groaning, Tony muttered under his breath, "Sometimes, I really hate the enhanced."
Before Wanda or Pietro could do something about Tony's rudeness, Steve cleared his throat, "I'll make this quick. Obviously, the Avengers have run into some controversy. Some people oppose us even being here. I want us to start volunteering on our off time. Obviously, we still train. And missions come first. But, if you have free time, I want you to spend it helping out the community. I don't care if it's helping with recovery efforts, rebuilding damaged buildings, or going to see sick kids in the hospital. New York City, in some parts, still aren't right after Loki. We made a lot of damage in Africa and Sokovia took a huge hit. We have to give back."
"Was it not enough that we saved the world?" Thor questioned, "Buildings can be rebuild. We saved lives."
"We destroyed lives by getting rid of homes." Wanda argued.
Before another fight was going to break out, Tony interjected, "I'll take care of the press. I'm great in front of a camera."
Seeing the Cap sigh, Sam Wilson volunteered, "I'll cover the VA's. Soup kitchens even."
"See? That's good. Good place to start," Steve nodded, smiling that his ragtime team was coming together, "Okay, just come up with stuff amongst yourselves. I'm helping in anyway I can too. I just thought, maybe this was important. Alright, dismissed."
As the captain began walking away, Natasha stood up to follow him. As far as everyone knew, she was simply his second in command. It made sense. Ever since SHIELD got to Steve, the Black Widow had been his handler. They worked together when finding out the truth about Hydra, discovering the Winter Soldier, and he had been a big supporter when the master assassin took a shot at a relationship with Bruce Banner.
Now out of the earshot of the group, Steve directed his words to Natasha, "I have to go to Romania. Apparently there's a small SHIELD operation there that didn't get the message that Hydra was working secretly underneath us. Would you like to come with me?"
"Been awhile since I've been to Romania," Natasha mused, smiling her full lips and winking, "Romantic getaway?"
"I am going to kick your ass."
The statement may have been a challenging one, but for some reason it sounded so funny coming from Pietro. It must have been the accent and the way he emphasized ass at the end. His words came out in the perfect mixture of playful and competitive, there being a slightly devious hint in his eyes.
In Mount Kisco, New York there was a place called Grand Prix that had not only a bowling alley in it, but a go kart course as well. The Sokovian thought there was no better place to take someone on a date, then somewhere they could have a little friendly competition. And since he was all about speed, driving around on a track was a no brainer.
Holding her helmet against her side, Tilda smirked, "You think that, but it's really I who is gonna kick your ass."
"But, I have such nice ass." Pietro teased, as he jogged away from the orange haired woman before she could get him.
As it would go, Tilda did end up winning. But, it didn't matter. They had had fun. So much fun. Once being strapped into those go karts, something childlike sparked inside both of them. A youthful happiness that neither had experienced when actually that age. It didn't matter they were both in their mid-twenties, they laughed and felt the adrenaline pumping just like a kid who first experienced going down a long slide.
Since the establishment had a rule against no drinking before driving, Tilda and Pietro decided to do best three out of five. There was one that Quicksilver won, but in the end his Orange had came out the victor. Though he was sulking slightly, he decided to be a good sport and shake her hand.
The bartender at Grand Prix made a good apple martini, Tilda grabbing hers as Pietro took his White Russian and plate of appetizers. They walked to a table in the corner and settled down in it, still high from the racing. Both seemed concerned with their hair after removing their helmets, though the agent was happy she had put hers in a French braid.
"It is too bad they have silly rule about drinking," Pietro mused, "I could probably beat you after a few."
Smirking, Tilda took a sip of her own drink and cooed, "Don't be a sore loser."
"Wanda always said that was my problem. I am...how you say, hot headed sometimes. But, only sometimes." He defended, eventually breaking into a smile.
The two laughed, going through a round of drinks before going up to order another. When they sat back down, Tilda took a moment to appreciate Pietro's facial features. She was beginning to notice things she hadn't before. Things that a normal person would look over, but a loved one wouldn't. It was funny how her perception of things were shifting. She couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but she liked it all the same.
Turning the rock glass his White Russian was served in, Pietro spoke, "I was thinking about what Captain said earlier. It makes me feel bad that I am not doing anything for Sokovia. I know, I am not ready to face it. But, one day, I would like to go back. Would like to live there. My grandparents had a house there, it is still in the Maximoff name. If it is still standing, I would like to fix it. And live there one day."
"That sounds really nice."
Hearing the sincerity in Tilda's words, Pietro smiled and boldly asked, "One day, would you live there with me?"
A frown then pulled at her lips, sadly starting to say, "Pietro-"
"Do not think about anything else. I just ask, if I lived in Sokovia, in nice house, would you live there with me?" He kindly asked. He didn't want her to think about the reality of things. He just wanted to daydream a little.
Knowing what he was doing, Tilda smiled and nodded, "I would really like that...I've never really had a home before. It would be nice to have one. Have something to call my own...someone."
The Sokovian leaned forward, painting a lovely picture for her, "It is big house. We would have lots of land. Maybe get small dog. It would be peaceful. I think...we would both like peaceful. Wanda could visit. And Clint and Natasha."
"And Vision."
"And Vision," Pietro sighed reluctantly, "We not even living there, and you already calling the shots?"
Tilda grinned, as eventually Pietro's face broke out in a grin. It was good for both of them to see the other laugh. As it was such a rarity. Both enjoyed seeing the other smile. They had beautiful smiles, with beautiful glimmers in their eyes as they did so. Two people who had been frowning for so long, actually happy.
A scream indicated that something was wrong, the two enhanced turning to see that the Grand Prix had suddenly been invaded by a group of armed robbers. Some time had gone by and the place had gotten crowded. Almost all lanes of the bowling alley were full and the go kart track was heavily used. Not to mention those in the arcade and the parents of children sitting in the bar area, eating and drinking.
"This is a robbery!" One robber shouted, pointing his AR-15 towards the ceiling and firing off a few rounds, "Everyone get your wallets and your phones, as well as any other valuables, and GET ON THE GROUND!"
Eying each other, Tilda and Pietro stood up as another robber pointed his gun towards them, "Don't be heroes."
With a deep frown, Quicksilver warned, "You should not be here. There are children. Go take your crime somewhere else."
"Sit down, Putin." The first robber ordered.
Growling, Pietro corrected, "I am not Russian!"
Placing a hand on Pietro's shoulder, Tilda instructed him, "Call the authorities and get the children out of here."
Pietro wanted to protest her facing the four robbers alone. He wanted to tell her that he could help, but he remembered that he was the fast one and needed to get the innocent bystanders out. Besides, Tilda was an agent. Trained to be a weapon since a child, and being perfected from SHIELD. She could handle this.
The runner nodded, as Tilda began walking forward. One thief laughed condescendingly, "What'd ya gonna do, sweetheart? Can't bat your pretty little lashes at us."
"Nah, look at her tattoos - she's a wild gal." One laughed just as insultingly.
Suddenly, using her powers, Tilda ripped an AR-15 from one robber's hands before punching him square in the jaw. When the robbers saw that they were not dealing with an untrained civilian, Pietro began doing his duty. He sped to collect as many children as possible, putting them all in the private bowling alley that was only reserved for parties.
Shots were firing, as Tilda ducked down and kicked at one robber's ankles. The man fell down, as she grabbed his gun and slammed the butt of it into his nose. One came at her from behind, wrapping his arm around her neck to keep her against his body. It gave her grounding to kick up and lock onto another thief, pulling him close before kicking him against the face. Once that one was down, she threw her head back into the other's mouth and slipped out of his grasp.
Before the fourth could get to her, she raised her hand and sent a force field in front of her, thus blocking the robber from getting to her. Out of the corner of her eyes, Tilda could see one of them reaching for his gun and with concentration, she made sure to explode the firearm right as he went to grab for it - probably causing him to lose a finger or two.
Keeping the force field up, Tilda turned and lifted her other hand. All three remained confused, until they felt their bodies beginning to lift up off the ground. They were hovering in place and looking quite freaked out, the telekinetic growling as she concentrated hard on both tasks. Something like this would have been easy a few years ago. Only sixteen, she could snap someone's neck with a flick of the wrist. Now, it was weighing on her to do two things at once.
After having called the authorities and gotten everyone to safety, Pietro sped over to the scene. Eyes widening, he paused for a moment to marvel at Tilda's powers, before seeing a single bead of blood dripping from her nose. Frowning, he ran up to her and begged, "Put them down, Tilda. I can take care of this."
"I can do this!" Tilda argued, feeling the three men falter a little.
"The cops will be here, you are over exerting yourself. I will tie them up."
Frowning, Tilda could see the desperation in Pietro's face as she sighed and dropped her arms. The three men landed on the ground with a thud, as the fourth fell forward from trying to push at the force field this whole time. It didn't take long for the Quicksilver to tie all their hands behind their backs, and luckily, the police were running in as soon as that happened.
As the cops then took over, Pietro held Tilda in his arms and wiped at the blood, "We get you to Banner. Now."
"Her cells have begun decaying at a more rapid rate. I would give her a few months. Just...make her comfortable."
Bruce's words rang through Pietro's mind as he sat on the edge of his bed. He wanted to be angry. He wanted to be mad at the doctor, even though he knew it wasn't his fault. The need to scream was quelled only when he remembered that it would do nothing. It was out of his hands and he had never felt more useless than he did now.
"I can understand...if you want to leave."
Once Tilda's words reached his ears, Pietro turned his head towards the telekinetic. She was sitting up against the headboard, with her knees against her chest. There was a feeling of emptiness inside of her. And she knew that her greatest fears were coming true. She no longer wanted to die.
Running her hands over her knees, Tilda added, "You can leave. I would understand. You don't need to go through this with me. It won't be pretty."
Tears filled Pietro's eyes as the words came out of her mouth. His jaw was locked tight and his lips thinned into a firm line. Eyebrows furrowing in, the Quicksilver got up and moved himself to sit practically on her feet. His piercing eyes practically looked into her soul, showing Tilda how broken he was from the news.
Cupping her cheeks, Pietro strongly stated, "Do not say that. I will not leave. I will stay by your side. You do not leave the people you love."
Tilda grabbed onto Pietro's hand, tears forming in her own eyes as she choked, "Pietro...why did you ever make me love you?"
"I am selfish man…"
With a small nod, Tilda gave a rueful smile, "Thank you."